Senior public servants meet to discuss Canadian consul general's 'opulent' NYC condo

Senior public servants have been called to a House of Commons committee to explain the government's decision to buy a $9-million condo for the consul general in New York.

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Conservative MP Michael Barrett called the residence "excessive" and "opulent," and questioned why the procurement minister was not made aware of the purchase.

"Was this purchase, in the context that I mentioned about the cost of living crisis that Canadians are facing, was this flagged for the minister?" he asked.

Amelie Bouchard, the acting chief appraiser of Canada, said she was the most senior official in the Procurement Department to sign off on the purchase but noted her role is to appraise a given property.

The government is selling its old Manhattan residence, which it has listed for $13 million, a move that Global Affairs says will actually save the government money.

Other officials who spoke at the meeting included two members of the real property services team in the Procurement Department, who often deferred questions to Global Affairs.

Global Affairs was not represented at the meeting Tuesday. A second committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.

Samantha Tattersall, a senior Treasury Board official, said her department did not need to review the purchase because it was under $10 million. However, she said Treasury Board policies would govern how Global Affairs made its decision.

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"What I think this committee would want to hear from Global Affairs about is: did they undertake a full life-cycle cost analysis of the different options?" she said.

"Did they look at keeping (the old residence) and making the upgrades, did they look at what the full cost would be of acquiring something new, either through a purchase or through a lease, and what was the results of that analysis?"

The $10-million transaction limit was increased from $4 million in 2022 after a review of the average purchase price of foreign residences, officials said. 

According to documents filed with the committee last week, it's likely that Canada will actually make a profit on the sale of its former Manhattan residence.

That Park Avenue apartment has been listed for sale at $13 million. 

Global Affairs Canada previously said the unit was purchased in 1961 and last renovated in 1982 and needed significant upgrades. 

It was not in compliance with accessibility legislation, there was a lack of separation between family and work space and the co-operative board had imposed restrictions on events that could be held on site, the department said. 

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis suggested during the meeting there is no guarantee the government will get the purchase price it’s asking for, and that it should have sold the old residence before buying a new one.

"We currently have two consul general’s residences in New York, each of which have very substantial carrying costs," he said.  

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Concerns about the Park Avenue apartment were first raised in 2014. 

Seven years later, Global Affairs approved $1.8-million worth of renovations, but the project was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

More issues were discovered recently, and documents submitted to the committee show the renovation project cost had risen to $2.6 million and was not expected to solve some fundamental issues with the apartment. 

The government worked with a local broker on the purchase, viewing 21 residences that ranged in price between $8 million and $21 million.    

It settled on a luxury condo in Steinway Tower, steps from Central Park in an area known as Billionaires' Row.

The official residence will be used by former journalist Tom Clark, who was appointed consul general in February 2023.

Global Affairs said the new residence will save Canadian taxpayers millions of dollars and reduce maintenance costs and property taxes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2024

-- With files from Mickey Djuric